I love this Cathedral. I live and work at SLU, so I am close by. Sometimes I’ll stop in here for a few minutes while I am running errands, or going to the grocery store. I love to pray here in this Cathedral. It’s also fun to people watch here. You’ll see homeless guys coming in to sit, get some cool air. Also tourists-- a family from Iowa may be in town to see a Cardinals game. They wander in, all wearing red Cardinals shirts, and they are walking around looking up. They’re confused and amazed. They see saints, angels, colors, beauty, Jesus and Mary. When you walk into this church, your heart is lifted up by the glory of God. The foundation of this Cathedral is Christ; and here the Holy Spirit lifts our minds and hearts to praise the Father’s glory.
[homily, originally delivered Saturday, July 21, 2018 at monthly Pro-Life Mass, Cathedral Basilica, St Louis MO. A rosary prayer procession to Planned Parenthood followed Mass]
Cathedral Basilica, St Louis MO
I’ll contrast this Cathedral with the place where we are all processing after Mass today-- Planned Parenthood. It’s not far away. I drive past that place regularly, too. That building is tall, painted, cement. I’m not sure what color it is-- beige? Faded gray? It looks like the skin of a really sick person. That building is designed to fade into the background. On a dark and rainy day, it just vanishes into the gray. The architect does not want you to notice it. He does not want you to think about what happens inside there. It is something very gruesome, very ugly. Abortions happen inside there. There are a few narrow windows at the very top. It’s like a fortress. I have never been inside there, but I can’t imagine it is a cheerful place to be. No natural light. Beige, painted cement.
It’s not a fair fight, it is? The Cathedral vs Planned Parenthood. That is a fortress built on a foundation of lies, of fear, of hopelessness. For all their talk about ‘choice’ and ‘freedom,’ they are basically telling women, “You have no choice. This is your only option. No one will help you. For a few hundred bucks in cash we can fix your problem. It’s just glob of cells anyway.” These are lies; they are evil lies. These lies prey on the fears of women who feel alone and afraid. That abortion brings death to her child. It’s the worst choice she’ll ever make.
This Cathedral a place of truth, love, and light. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He gives us life. He came that we might have life. The eternal Son of God was born as a baby boy; He is the Son of Mary. She holds him, kisses Him, loves him, and shares Him with us. Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist at every Mass. He gives us His Body and Blood that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
We are here at the Cathedral in prayer this morning. We will walk to Planned Parenthood in prayerful, peaceful witness. We want to reach out to every woman who walks up to that ugly building. We love her. We are praying for her. We are here to help her. She might feel alone; she feels like she has no choice. Today, on that sidewalk, grandmothers will be praying together next to young girls; they want to hug this young woman in her time of need. I see many religious sisters here at Mass this morning. Thank you, Sisters, for your beautiful witness. Thank you for sharing your life and love. These Sisters are the spiritual mothers and spiritual sisters of the Church. They are here for this woman in her time of need. To love her and welcome her. We are here today to say, “We want to help. We can help you find resources, real options. Food, medical care, child care, adoption. You have options. We are here for you! We care! Don’t listen to those lies. You don’t have to choose abortion.” We pray that she doesn’t walk into that sickly gray fortress to make the worst choice she will ever make-- choosing abortion, the death of her child.
And even if she does, we still love her. We are still here for her. Jesus reaches out in love and mercy. There is no sin we can commit that God cannot forgive. Project Rachel and other organizations offer healing and reconciliation to women who have experienced the terrible act of abortion. So often these women feel pressured by boyfriends and even parents. In Project Rachel, the ministers are women. Many of these women have themselves been through the terrible tragedy of abortion; in Christ they find strength, renewal and forgiveness. Through Project Rachel they become apostles of Life, reaching out a healing hand to other women. Jesus is life; He comes to bring us mercy, to raise us up to new life in Him.
In the Gospel today, we hear the words, “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight.” Jesus is the Beloved Son of the Father. Jesus fulfills what is written in Isaiah. “Behold, my beloved in whom I delight;” the Father speaks these words to Jesus at His Baptism and again at the Transfiguration. In Him, we, too, are beloved sons and daughters of the Father. Today, we say to these women that they, too, are beloved daughters-- their dignity is real, powerful, beautiful. Their tiny babies, their boys and girls, are beloved sons and daughters of the Father. God will help them; we will help them to choose life. The truth of Christ shines light into the darkness and uncovers the lies of abortion.
That big ugly fortress is built on a foundation of lies-- it is built on sand. The Holy Spirit is the glorious wind and mighty water that erodes and washes away that cheap and shoddy foundation. The Spirit works through our prayers and actions, our love, our peaceful witness-- until that awful prison collapses into under the weight of its lies and violence. The Holy Spirit works slowly and powerfully; the Spirit works through us, today. Choose life. Protect life. Defend life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.